It’s a beautiful day in Ponce Inlet on the deck at my mom’s house. Captain hubby unfortunately had a photo shoot in Orlando this evening so we didn’t take Adios out to watch the 5:02 pm launch of space shuttle Discovery. My mom invited me down to watch the launch from her deck - it’s a front row seat! (she even fed me :-))

Look! There - in the sky just above the shrubs - a glimmer of the massive fireball that propels the shuttle into space. We live just about 2 hours north of Cape Canaveral and we get such an amazing view of the launches. I try never to miss one. As many as I’ve seen, they still take my breath away. I even cried once years ago when we were on our boat almost to the Cape and were close enough to see the shuttle on the pad, hear the roar and feel the rumble in our chests as she lifted off.

And there she goes…shortly after I snapped this we saw the SRBs fall away (solid rocket boosters; so no more fire) and you could see the speck of the shuttle under her own power leaving the atmosphere and the even tinier specks of the SRBs falling to the ocean many miles away - you usually lose sight of them well before they reach the water. Then, minutes later you hear the rumbles of the sonic boom rolling across the water. It really is an awesome thing to experience.

…but I’ve never seen a white eggplant.  Bought this at the farmer’s market this morning and am looking forward to cooking it tomorrow night. Anybody had these?  Tips for preparations?

One of the fun things about going to a show is seeing your designs on product. Often I haven’t seen samples yet as they are hot off the press to get to the show, so seeing them at the show is a treat.

Gina B. Designs‘ booth look lovely as did the two collections of product with my designs as well as a variety of individual boxed notes & single cards that were here and there…

Here’s me & Gina B. herself with my Lauren collection. (I have also just completed this design as a fabric collection - more on that later! )

This note card is darling (also comes as a boxed set blank) and I have also completed this design as a fabric collection as well!

M. Middleton was showing a wide variety of my invitation designs - I can’t wait to get the samples - I may have to have a few parties this year to use some of them!

Great Arrow was having a screen print demo that I participated in, apron and all! Wish I had thought to hand Alan the camera to snap a pic. It was a fun diversion and it was nice to see my designs in their booth. BTW, they were my very first license way back when with these cards….many of which are still in their line.

One of my standing appointments each show, whether it be Atlanta or New York, is with Susan from Leanin’ Tree. I told her it is no longer about the art, but what shoes she’s wearing. She always, always has on the cutest shoes. I have no earthly idea how she walks a show in them, but she looks fab-oo. She was kind enough to let me photograph them this year to show you all…..

Also joining us was Jane from Leanin’ Tree, whose shoes are no less darling & fashionable ~ and dare I say, appear much more comfortable?! Thanks ladies for the shoe-shots and the laugh!

And speaking of Leanin’ Tree, a box of samples just arrived yesterday and when I get a chance to snap a pretty pic, I’ll share!

OK ~ now it’s time to say goodbye to all the show fun and get back in the studio groove….

Whew! Back from New York City ~ lots of excitement, lots of inspiration, lots of fun! I managed to get a few hours in the Met before the show opened and thoroughly enjoyed every minute.

If you want to see more Met pics, click here. The weather was glorious that day ~ thank goodness because it was rather nasty the rest of the trip.

After the Met, I walked through Central Park for an hour before collapsing into a taxi to go meet friends from Connecticut who drove down to see me the night before the show opened ~ it’s become a tradition - thanks, Rob & Kathie ~ always a good time!

I had a great time catching up with show friends both at Surtex and the National Stationery Show. Very much enjoyed the Surtex opening night cruise. I danced my dinner off and table-hopped the night away.

Me & Susan Rooney on the boat.

Me, Sue Zipkin & Andrea Mistretta having way too much fun!

Franchelle & hubby Joe.

Also had a nice lunch with Ellen Crimi-Trent and Robin Zingone & her hubby on Sunday during the show.

On Monday night I met up with a group of artists & others at the Paramount Hotel bar. Many of us had been meeting up there one night during the show for the last few years, but this year had a special meaning ~ we were celebrating the memory of Judy Hand, a fellow artist who left us too soon. We’ll all miss her.

(l-r) Tina Higgins, Martha Collins, Ed Hand, Me, Mary Jo Recker and Fran Seigel at the Paramount Bar.

Well, my bags are packed (ok, almost), the portfolio is ready, flights & hotel confirmed ~ I’m ready to go! I’ll be meeting with clients, walking the show floors, attending some seminars, going on the SURTEX opening-night cruise and dancing with, well - anybody! I love to dance (I’ll miss you on the dance floor , Lynnea)! I’ll have lots to show and tell when I get back, so be sure to tune in after Memorial Day!

It’s almost here - the “Really Big Shoe” (think Ed Sullivan). Although I am not exhibiting as I did last year…

…I still have lots of work to do to get ready ~ updating my portfolio ~ both the one I carry and online ~ with what’s new since the Atlanta Show in January, creating a few new things for those with whom I am meeting, making appointments, planning lunches, dinners & get-togethers and trying to figure out what to wear (the hardest is the shoes ~ I dearly love cute shoes, however my feet just don’t love them at a show).

Here’s a little sneak peek at a new series I just completed called Living Wishes ~ or should I call it Wishes for Living? I am the worst at naming my own work! This piece was the inspiration for my blog header ~ I felt I was stretching my wings and trying something new!

I hope everyone had a nice Mother’s Day! Mine was lovely ~ all three kitties signed a card in their own unique way and left it with my coffee cup for me to find in the morning. Sweet babies.

Had my mom over for dinner (that’s her on the left; the other is my mother-in-law). The heat of the day died down some, but the breeze (really more of a strong wind) continued, so it was pleasant enough to sit on the back porch for a libation and a tasty chilled shrimp cocktail. Aren’t they just darling served in martini glasses?

Captain Hubby’s mom is in Sarasota so we had to make due with a warm wishes phone call. Remember ~ treat your moms special every day of the year ~ not just on a Sunday in May!

How can these two things possibly be connected, you ask? Sometimes when I am redoing my portfolio ~ like I am now in preparation for Surtex ~ I am reminded of having a garage sale. Seems like every time I’ve ever had a garage sale (which I have sworn never to do again) the one item I thought would be the first thing to walk out the door never sold and the items I considered almost tossing in the “free” box were being snapped up like hot cakes. Then there’s the strange phenomenon of moving an item that hadn’t even gotten a glance to a different location and the next person who walks up goes home with that item. And there are the things that everyone picked up, oohed and ahhed over, considered and put back down.

My portfolio is like that. I have designs that I thought were sure winners and everyone would want them. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. And I’ve had designs I thought were good as well as licensable (or they wouldn’t be in my book), but I didn’t think they had the “wow” factor they seemed to invoke in the licensees who grabbed them up. Go figure. Then, I’ve taken designs, rearranged them on the page, put them in a different place in my book and poof! next showing they find a buyer. And of course, there are the designs that get a lot of interest, requests for samples, oohs & ahhs, but in the end, they are still waiting for that perfect match. Much of this is due to timing, I know, but I still hope that every time a potential licensee opens my book that he or she finds a treasure to take home.

Isn’t it interesting how a fresh set of colors can completely change the feel of a design? I have always liked this design and have licensed it for a floormat and for boxed note cards. I thought it still had “legs”, but might benefit from a make-over! I’m not sure this is the palette I’ll end up with, but it’s a start. This is an example of how as designers, when we get stuck for ideas or just plain need a jump start, it is good to remember that we don’t always need to reinvent the wheel ~ just recolor it and voilè ~ you’re rolling along again!

I am a firm believer in refreshing ones creative spirit as often as possible! And I can’t think of a better way than kicking back on our sailboat on a breezy, sunny day - like yesterday - watchin’ the world go by.

A cold beer and one of Captain Hubby’s signature “designer” grilled sandwiches - nothing could be better. We really are lucky to live in this little bit of paradise.

There are times on these boat days when I need a break from everything and bring a book or bag full of magazines (that I end up ripping bits of inspiration from). And then there are times when I pull out the sketch book that I always take and get some ideas down. Ideas like this fun card design for Great Arrow….from sketchbook to a card rack near you later this month!

Now, I guess I’ve got to get my feet on the ground and get busy getting ready for Surtex in New York City - less than 2 weeks away! I’m looking forward to seeing all my “show friends” and art buddies!